Dear Dave,

I want to wish you a belated merry Christmas, and a wonderful new year too!!!

Here at last are the pictures I promised I’d send.  How does it look?

Do feel free to use the photos on your website to display the hat, and also to use the following as a testimonial on the site -

I had always loved Jughead's beanie hat, and searched desperately to find one similar to it........it was just by pure chance that I came across Dave’s website. Then I emailed him, and soon, we were having long conversations on all the details I would want on my "dream hat".

I wear the hat (pictured here) to the supermarket, the mall, my son's school, in the car, when I’m visiting friends.......practically all the time!!! I love it!!! I must say that it does draw a lot of attention, and lots of people stop to look, smile, and some come over to ask me where I got it from! It feels good to tell them that I had it specially made by you.

It's a lovely hat, and very well made too. Already feels like an old pal. This is one hat Jughead would want to swap his hat for - it's THAT good!!!

I must thank you, Dave, for making the process so easy for me. I didn’t think it would be so simple to get a custom hat made, and you guided me on what color would be best and also put up with all my crazy requests concerning the charms for the hat!!!

Shipping was fast, and it was packed very well. I received it in perfect condition. It really was a pleasure to do business with you.

You’ll definitely hear from me again! Maybe for a Viking hat, or a sorting hat, or whatever.....

Once again, thank you for making me such a spectacular hat!!!

I will get in touch with you soon.......

Best Regards,

Sreedevi Eswaran - United Arab Emeritus ~ Dubai

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Hello Dave,

The Richard Gere/Chicago fedora (pictured here)arrived today and it is perfect. I put it on and I look just like Billy Flynn. Well not really but it certainly isn't the fault of the hat! The fit is perfect considering we long-distanced it. The beaver blend felt feels very rich to the touch and holds its own with any 100% beaver hat that I own. And the hat box is the nicest I've ever gotten from any men's hatter. I couldn't be happier.

I am a tinkerer and I usually end up tinkering a bit with the hats I purchase - flatten the brim a bit, curve the brim a bit, adjust the pinch or crease. There is nothing to tinker with on this hat. It is perfect. You are truly a craftsman and an artist. Thank you.

Regards,

Ed "not quite Billy Flynn" Vatza

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Dear Dave,

I tell everyone that my beanie (pictured here) was made by Dave Brown's Crowns of Reknown in Rochester, NY.

Some facts:
* It is inspired by Jughead's beanie in the Archie Comics series.
* It is 100% felt. Handcrafted, like homemade biscuits
* Pecan color
* Size 8 for a big, happy fathead
* 18 points
* fully lined with a sweatband
* Decorated with 19th century love tokens. Engraved names include; Willie, Tillie, Puckie, and Joe

This beanie always makes people smile!

Rock Kershaw
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Dave,

After much anticipation, I received the hat today - and it is superb !! It was fun just opening the package.
The hat fits perfectly - a true work of art! Obviously crafted by a master.

The color and fit are just as I imagined. Thank you for your meticulous attention to detail and the obvious care you put into its creation. And to top it off, it has my name in it !I love the pictures of my hat and Hanks' hat side by side - I am going to print it out and frame it.

Yes, you DO know what you are doing..,
You have gained another admirer.

Blessings,
Wesley O. Wills, Jr.
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Mr. Brown,

Your delightfully done hat meets both detailed style requirements and desired quality. In addition, it fits, a feat rarely achieved in ready-made hats I have used previously.

Already in use, the hat was used first on the evening of arrival for a two hour jazz gig. At the gig, I played tunes in honor of Lester Young, the tenor saxophonist, whose hat you have recreated so well from the photographs (pictured here). Lester Young's spirit lives on in this hat and my spirits are raised wearing it!

Many thanks, I'll look foward to seeking your services again.

Cheers,
Roger McWilliams
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Dear Dave Brown,

Enclosed please find a picture of the handsome James Brolin in the hat which you made for him. I want to thank you so much for making such beautiful hats on this movie and all the other movies you have done for me. I look forward to working together again very soon! All the best to you.

Thank You,

Mary Zophres
"Catch Me If You Can"
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Hello again!

A.W. really likes the hat, he is very pleased with it. I thought it looked a little strange on him at first, as accustomed as I was to the old shabby hat, but with in about 5 minutes I thought, "Yeah, that looks really good." It fits like a charm. Thanks again, he'll be wearing your hat for years to come, until it too is old and shabby (grin)!

Sincerely,

Ivy
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Greetings Dave,

Gorgeous is an understatement. My hat is perfect! I've wore hats for almost 40 years and this is the finest. The natural beaver is dense and smooth to the touch and the color is perfect. Fedoras aren't common and almost daily I have people stop me and compliment me about my hat. It has been a pleasure talking with you as we went through the process of designing it. You are truly a professional, taking craftsmanship to an art form.

I tip my hat to you.

Jerry Grence
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Dave,

I recieved the beutiful Chapeau,what an Artist you are. I love the color ,it fits perfectly and it makes me look (well almost) like I belong in front of the camera. Susan and I are off to Tahiti after 89 grueling days on the set of Road To Perdition. I think it will be a very good film and certainly your contribution has a lot to do with that- All those gentlemen look really spiffy with your elegant hats.

I look forward to our paths crossing again. With much admiration.

Gratefully,

Conrad Hall
(Cinematographer )
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Dear Dave:

Thanks again for producing suberb workmanship and historical accuracy in completing Clayton Moore's Lone Ranger hat. I intend to wear it with great pride, especially at spectacular events like the Rose Bowl Parade, January 2002. I'm receiving compliments from individuals who say that the late, great Lone Ranger himself, Clayton Moore, would be hard-put to tell the difference between your hat and the original.

Till our trails cross again, adios Kemosabe!

Your friend,

Chuck Medwork
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Hi Dave-

Yes, I just picked it up from the Post Office today. It's gorgeous; the shape and the color are perfect. I'm already thinking about the next one.

Best-

Philip Salter
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Dave,

I just received my hat. The hat is perfect in every way.

In this day & age, when it is almost impossible to get an order done right at the burger joint, it is a pleasure dealing with a person who gets it right the first time.

I will be calling you in a couple of weeks with another order.

Thanks again,

Ed Burns

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Hello Mr. Brown,

You do wonderful work, my Dad was both surprised and very happy to receive his hat. Easter Sunday, he was prancing like a peacock (and everyday since).

Thanks for a job well done, I am sure you will be hearing from my family again.

Sincerely,
Manytunes aka Sharon Hageman
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Dave,

My husband absolutely loved his special valentine's day present. He's like this little kid--he wears the hat all the time around the house. The only times that the hat isn't on his head are when he's sleeping and when he's in the shower! I am sure that you'll be hearing from him soon. Again, thank you so much for your advice and for speeding up the process in time for V-day. Ii am sure that you'll be hearing from us in the near future. We really appreciated your old-world charm and customer service skills--they're priceless nowadays.

In any case, thanks again!

Tamina Winn-Mcmillan

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I received the hat today. I was not sure what to expect, but it is perfect! The fit is right on, the color and style are what I wanted. It will really stand out here among the Cowboy hats. Thanks for taking care of me. It was a nice experience doing business with you.

Don McCall

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Dear Dave Brown,

I have a particular fondness for the artistry dave brown displays in his hat making. I had purchased a custom hat from dave made to my specifications previously (pictured here), and based on that happy experience, asked dave to make me a hat modeled after a lid worn by a famous british lord, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvan. I sent him a photograph of the hat and he went to work. It is, in my opinion, a true masterpiece. It has tremendous attitude and the beaver felt is magic to the touch (pictured here). The band was entirely re-created by dave, and it is unlike any I have ever before seen. as is to be expected, the hat is a show stopper. The brim is curved up on one side and has a delicate pencil roll that only a master hatter can properly fashion. The felt itself is a delicious chocolate brown but strong sunlight brings out cinammon overtones. The high linen band, perfectly layered, is blindingly white. The resulting contrast is more than pleasing.

I wore it in boston recently and must have been stopped a dozen times by interested passers-by. everyone said it was a spectacular look. I patiently explained the hat's provenance, and that it was similar to the one worn by Lord Carnarvan, who was the patron of the expedition to egypt that discovered King Tut's tomb. Dave's attention to detail - his eye for the finest elements of style - was displayed in fine fashion when he noted that in the photo I showed him Lord Carnarvan appeared to have the hat on backwards. The photo can be seen in the book on King Tut by former metropolitan museum of art curator thomas hoving. for when you commission a hat from dave brown you are sure to learn something. we cannot figure out why the hat appears to be on backwards (the tie-up of the banding is not visible, suggested it is on the back side of the hat) but only dave would have noticed this detail to begin with. I never would, that's for sure.

Like many fine masters, dave is a humble guy and doesn't like to blow his own horn. it's part of what makes him so likeable. When he presented me with the hat, which nearly reduced me to tears, he told me - insistently - that is there was ANYTHING about the hat that was not right, or not to my complete satisfaction, to send it back to him and he would make it right. That's the kind of craftsman, and gentleman, he is. It made me laugh. The hat could not be any more perfect than if i had dreamed it up from the original photograph.

Like I said, the hat is long on attitude, and it makes me feel, well, like a lord when I don it.

I am certain I will be ordering another dave brown hat and already I am eyeing hats here and there. I know one day one will strike my fancy and I feel confident dave can nail down any particular hat I desire. This in itself is a rare delight. The execution of a design is where the rubber meets the road and many a fine notion falls on its face in the attempt to bring it to life. I suppose I could try to throw Mr. Brown a curve ball but I expect he would drive it into the bleachers. No, I am sure he would!

Once more I can recommend dave's work with unreserved enthusiasm. His hats are lifetime purchases and few things qualify for that ultimate approbation.

Tom Hanrahan
Whitefield, Maine